The Shady Oak, Tiverton

The cruise to The Shady took us down 4 locks, including Beeston Iron Lock. This lock was built out of cast iron in 1828 to replace two original locks that were affected by subsidence.

The day was sunny but there has been so much rain this month that the towpaths are thick with mud. We moored in as dry a spot as we could find, but were restricted in how far we could walk the dogs in either direction without them having to wade through the stuff.

We enjoyed lunch at The Shady - bhaji burgers with a rasberry frangipane for Vicky's desert. We were the only customers save for one guy who came in for a drink towards the end of the meal, but the bar tender was friendly and it had a good feeling about it so we returned the following day for a drink with Leo and Tiger Lilly. They'd been cooped up inside the boat because of the heavy rain, so taking them to the pub at least gave them a change of scenery. We got chatting to two boaters, one of which adored the dogs. They recommended a pub called Telfords Warehouse in Chester that we'll try and visit.

Perched on an upthrust of rock and surrounded by woodland, Beeston Castle was a prominent feature of the landscape and only 2.6km away via footpaths. We waited for a break in the rain before loading Leo into the Pom pouch and taking the shoulder bag for when Tiger got tired. It was a pleasant walk over fields but when we got to the walls at the base of the hill a volunteer told us it was still on winter opening hours and closed today. She recommended a walk around the walls instead, which turned out to be pleasant enough.Read more